Gratitude, Hope, and Community
Dear Friends,
Since my last update, I’ve had the privilege to meet with many of you over cups of coffee, walks on trails, and delicious meals to hear your stories and wonder together about what God might be up to in the world today. Some of you are grappling with deep questions of vocation, while others wonder how the gift of your queerness will help you understand God’s character in new ways. Some of you are courageously picking up the pieces of a broken faith to build something new, while others of you are seeing hairline cracks in life’s foundations creep upward into an unknown future. I have been amazed by your stories; the questions you’ve carried so faithfully, and the perseverance you’ve exercised as you put one foot in front of the other. What a gift. And, as I listened, one thread that weaves brightly through these conversations is a deep desire to know and be known by one another. And so, as we look toward the holidays and beyond, I wanted to let you in on how we plan to create the conditions for this to happen:
CONNECT. If you joined us this past Sunday, you would have experienced a trial run of this, through our pre-Thanksgiving potluck which, evidenced by the empty trays of food, was a total success! Keep your eyes peeled–there will be more opportunities to connect like this in the months to come, along with regional gatherings and new community and affinity groups. We’ll also begin to incorporate the Christian tradition of sharing “testimony” – something we began to do over this past month and throughout our Story Feast gatherings. Each of you carry tremendous stories within you and others need to hear them!
GROW. As the new year begins, there will be some special opportunities to grow, as City Church hosts the Faith + Justice Network’s annual conference, focused on “The Future of Faith.” You are encouraged to register – it will launch a 5-week small group led by Peter Choi. Additionally, we’ll be launching a 6-week curriculum to explore core concepts of our faith for folks to do a “refresh,” and for those who are interested in membership at City Church.
SERVE. Finally, if you have been successfully avoiding our pop-up ministry fair, I invite you to embrace failure! Everyone can’t do everything, but each of us can do something. So take a look at all of the opportunities to serve and see where you might be able to lend a hand.
In addition to our community health, here are some updates on other aspects of our life together:
Financial Health
As we enter the third week of our first-ever stewardship campaign at City Church, we have reached 31% of our goal, with 29 pledges. 60% of these pledges are an increase from previous giving – a sign that folks are excited for what is to come! If you haven’t yet, please submit your pledge today. If you are a recurring giver, please submit the amount you anticipate giving. All of this will help us to plan well. Your financial support is one of the three ingredients that not only help us be who we are (by creating the conditions for healing, growth, and connection), but also do what we do (serve our city in robust and creative ways). My hope for this campaign is not only to reach our stewardship goal, but to increase the overall number of people giving – at any amount. Financial giving is not only a way to meet our needs, but also a spiritual discipline that helps us to grow in deeply spiritual and countercultural ways while caring for one another and expressing gratitude for God’s presence in our lives.
Institutional Health
- We’ll be celebrating the many years of Minna Choi’s musical leadership as she leaves her role to pursue new projects. Be sure to share your appreciation on this Kudoboard!
- If you haven’t had a chance yet, check out the conversation that Elder Kenny Oyedeji and I had with Fred Harrell on what’s next for him.
- You may know that our Associate Pastor Stephen Gundlach has been pursuing his licensure as a therapist over the past few years. Beginning in January, he will be scaling back his current role to 60% in order to build a therapeutic practice at the City Church Counseling Center. Stephen will continue to be present, albeit in a slightly different way, taking the lead on Sunday morning leadership while continuing to support the formation and organization of community life. Questions? Feel free to contact Stephen or myself.
- Finally, we look forward to strengthening our relationships with key partners by highlighting them on Giving Tuesday! We hope that you will join us in celebrating and supporting the good work of City Hope, Open Door Legal, the Center for Faith + Justice, and the City Church Counseling Center in the city and beyond!
Celebrations!
- Our Halloween Festival was a smashing success, with attendance at pre-pandemic levels. A special thanks to all of the MANY volunteers who made it happen, Barbara’s careful planning with Nikki Milbrath and many more volunteers, and finally Jason and Joshua’s twisted sense of humor that made our haunted church basement something that no one will forget.
- As part of our “We are City Church!” stewardship campaign, we instituted practices for greater financial transparency through the development of a narrative budget, givers gatherings (for those who had given to City Church financially in the past), as well as our congregational meeting.
- Finally, this Sunday, we’ll be growing our church family through baptisms and membership – signs that God’s got big plans for us and for our city!
Faithfully,
Pastor Emily